Clamping member, clipless pedal using the same, and manufacturing method thereof

ABSTRACT

A manufacturing method for making a clamping member of a clipless pedal includes steps of: providing a mold for the clamping member, wherein the mold is formed with a mold cavity; placing a spring-driven adjusting bar into the mold such that at least one part of the spring-driven adjusting bar is positioned in the mold cavity; injecting a material for the clamping member into the mold cavity so that the material is molded in the mold cavity to fixedly incorporate the spring-driven adjusting bar; and removing the molded clamping member from the mold to present the clamping member with the spring-driven adjusting bar to be used in a clipless pedal.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Technical Field

The present invention relates to clipless pedals, and more particularly,to a manufacturing method of a clamping member that fixedly incorporatesa spring-driven adjusting bar for simplifying the configuration andassembling process of a clipless pedal using the clamping member. Thepresent invention also relates to the clamping member made using themanufacturing method and a clipless pedal using such clamping member.

2. Description of Related Art

A bicycle clipless pedal is designed to removably engage with a shoecleat of a bicycle shoe for thereby preventing a foot of a cyclist fromaccidentally coming off the pedal. As compared with traditional simplepedals, clipless pedals are proven helpful to cyclists in savingpedaling force, sustaining acceleration, and ensuring riding safety, sothey are extensively used in various bicycles, such as cross-countrybikes, freerider bikes, and road racing bikes.

As to existing clipless pedals, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,708,584 hasdisclosed a bicycle pedal assembly, which comprises a pedal shaft, apedal body rotatably coupled to the pedal shaft, and a front clampingmember as well as a rear clamping member connected to a first end and asecond end of the pedal body, respectively. The above-cited US patentalso provides a shoe cleat configured to engage with the pedal assembly.The cleat has a front cleat engagement surface and a rear cleatengagement surface for coupling with the front clamping member and therear clamping member, respectively. A pin is provided at the rear partof the pedal body and a pair of torsion springs is mounted on the pin.The torsion springs each have one end connected to the rear clampingmember and the other end coupled to an adjustment mechanism provided onthe rear clamping member. The adjustment mechanism may press or releasethe torsion springs to change a prestressing force applied to thetorsion springs, so as to adjust tightness of the engagement between theclamping members and the cleat.

However, the above-mentioned known clipless pedal is disadvantageouslycomposed of a large number of components. Particularly, the adjustmentmechanism and the torsion springs are constructed from various smallparts, which require complicated assembling steps that are unfavorableto mass production. In addition, for carrying the adjustment mechanism,the rear clamping member has to be designed with structural andmechanical complexity, which is also adverse to mass production. Duringthe injection-molding process for making the rear clamping member, thecomplexity thereof unavoidably requires precise and complicated mold,which means increased manufacturing costs and difficulties in removingthe product from the mold.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is thus found that the existing clamping member for a clipless pedalhas the defects relates to its numerous small parts, complicatedassembling process and difficult production. In view of these defects,the present invention provides a novel clamping member, a clipless pedalusing such clamping member and a manufacturing method thereof.

The present invention discloses a manufacturing method for a clampingmember of a clipless pedal, which comprises steps of:

providing a mold for the clamping member, wherein the mold is formedtherein with a mold cavity;

placing a spring-driven adjusting bar into the mold such that at least apart of the spring-driven adjusting bar is positioned in the moldcavity;

injecting a material for the clamping member into the mold cavity sothat the material is molded in the mold cavity to fixedly incorporatethe spring-driven adjusting bar; and

removing the molded clamping member from the mold to present theclamping member with the spring-driven adjusting bar to be used in theclipless pedal.

One objective of the present invention is to provide the manufacturingmethod for simplifying the assembling and manufacturing process of theclamping member and the clipless pedal using the clamping member.Therein, the spring-driven adjusting bar is at least partiallypositioned in the mold cavity of the mold, so that in the course of theinjection-molding process for making the clamping member, the clampingmember fixedly incorporates the spring-driven adjusting bar as a wholepiece, thereby simplifying the assembling process of the clamping memberand reducing the structural complexity of the clamping member, thusbeing suitable for molding with lowered manufacturing costs.

Another objective of the present invention is to provide a clampingmember for a clipless pedal, wherein the clamping member is made usingthe foregoing manufacturing method and comprises:

a main body having a pressing end and a pivotal end; and

the spring-driven adjusting bar attached to the pivotal end, and whereinthe spring-driven adjusting bar has an embedded portion that is embeddedin the main body.

A third objective of the present invention is to provide a cliplesspedal using a clamping member that is made using the foregoingmanufacturing method, wherein the clipless pedal comprises:

a pedal shaft;

a pedal body that is combined with the pedal shaft and rotatable againstthe pedal shaft, the pedal body having two ends formed as a retainingend and a clamping end, respectively, wherein the clamping end allowsthe clamping member to be pivotally connected thereto with a pivotportion;

a torsion spring mounted around the pivot portion, the torsion springhaving two ends fixed to the pedal body, so as to apply a resilientpushing force to the clamping member; and

an adjustment mechanism provided on the spring-driven adjusting bar foradjusting a prestressing force of the torsion spring.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention as well as a preferred mode of use, further objectives andadvantages thereof will be best understood by reference to the followingdetailed description of illustrative embodiments when read inconjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a flowchart of a manufacturing method for a clamping member ofa clipless pedal according to the present invention;

FIGS. 2 to 4 illustrate the manufacturing method of the presentinvention;

FIG. 5 is an exploded view of a clipless pedal according to the presentinvention;

FIG. 6 is an assembled view of the clipless pedal according to thepresent invention;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a spring-driven adjusting bar accordingto the present invention; and

FIGS. 8 to 9 illustrate operation of the clipless pedal according to thepresent invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring to FIG. 1, according to the present invention, a manufacturingmethod for a clamping member of a clipless pedal comprises the followingsteps.

As shown in FIG. 2, a mold 1 for the clamping member is provided. Themold 1 may be composed of a plurality of detachable members so as tofacilitate mold opening for taking out the molded product. Therein, themold 1 includes a mold cavity 2.

Then a spring-driven adjusting bar 40 is placed into the mold 1 suchthat at least a part thereof is positioned in the mold cavity 2. Thespring-driven adjusting bar 40 may be completely received in the mold 1,or may have a part thereof projecting outside from the mold 1, accordingto the required final product and/or subsequent process.

Afterward, as shown in FIG. 3, a material 3 for the clamping member isinjected into the mold cavity 2 through, for example, aninjection-molding process. The material 3 is molded in the mold cavity 2and thereby fixedly incorporates the spring-driven adjusting bar 40.

At last, as shown in FIG. 4, the members of the mold 1 are disassembledto allow the molded clamping member 30 to be removed from the mold 1, soas to present the clamping member 30 with the spring-driven adjustingbar 40.

Referring to FIG. 5 through FIG. 7, a clipless pedal using a clampingmember that is made using the foregoing manufacturing method comprisesthe following components:

a pedal shaft 10;

a pedal body 20 that is combined with the pedal shaft 10 and rotatableagainst the pedal shaft 10, wherein the pedal body 20 has two endsformed as a retaining end 21 and a clamping end 22, respectively, inwhich the retaining end 21 is an immovable frame and the clamping end 22includes connecting portions 221 extending outward along two oppositelaterals of the pedal body 20 as well as retaining nodes 222 extendinginward; and

the clamping member 30 made using the manufacturing method describedabove.

The clamping member 30 comprises:

a main body 31 having a pressing end 32 and a pivotal end 33, whereinthe pivotal end 33 has a pair of connecting plates 331 for receiving apivot portion 34, such as a pair of bolts, so to be pivotally combinedwith the connecting portions 221;

the spring-driven adjusting bar 40 located at the pivotal end 33 of themain body 31, wherein the spring-driven adjusting bar 40 has an embeddedportion 41 that is embedded in the main body 31, and the embeddedportion 41 has a pair of wing portions 411 extending outward from twoopposite laterals thereof;

a torsion spring 50 that is mounted around the pivot portion 34 and hastwo ends formed with pins 51 that is fixed to the retaining nodes 222 ofthe pedal body 20, wherein the torsion spring 50 has its middle portionformed with a pressing portion 52; and

an adjustment mechanism 60 provided on the spring-driven adjusting bar40 for adjusting a prestressing force of the torsion spring 50, whereinthe spring-driven adjusting bar 40 is formed with a threaded hole 42 forreceiving an adjusting screw 61, and the adjusting screw 61 is coupledto an adjusting piece 62 through the pressing portion 52 of the torsionspring 50 with the pressing portion 52 sandwiched therebetween andpressing against the adjusting piece 62, so as to apply a resilientpushing force to the clamping member 30.

In addition, the spring-driven adjusting bar 40 has an adjusting segment43 extending coaxially to the adjusting screw 61 away from the embeddedportion 41 and formed with a bended portion. The adjusting segment 43 isprovided with a slot 431, and the adjusting piece 62 has a protrusion621 configured to be slidably received in the slot 431. Thespring-driven adjusting bar 40 has a reinforcing rib 432 formed at thebended portion of the adjusting segment 43. The reinforcing rib 432 isrecessed from the spring-driven adjusting bar 40.

With the aforementioned configuration, the clipless pedal and clampingmember of the present invention are enabled to operate in the mannerexplained below.

As shown in FIG. 8, the clipless pedal of the present invention isconfigured to mate with a shoe cleat 90, which has a front combiningportion 91 and a rear combining portion 92. In use, a user may place abicycle shoe on the clipless pedal to make the front combining portion91 of the shoe cleat 90 combined with the retaining end 21, and thenstep on the rear combining portion 92. At this time, since the pressingend 32 has is upper face formed as an incline, the clamping member 30 isforced to rotate outward, thereby increasing the distance between theretaining end 21 and the pressing end 32. Thus, as shown in FIG. 9, therear combining portion 92 of the cleat can be smoothly put into theclamping member 30. Afterward, in virtue of the resilient pushing forceprovided by the torsion spring 50, the clamping member 30 returns tomake the retaining end 21 and the pressing end 32 engage with the frontcombining portion 91 and the rear combining portion 92 of the cleat 90,respectively, so as to prevent the user's feet from accidentally comingoff the pedal when he/she rides a bike, thereby protecting the user fromaccidents such as muscle strains.

Moreover, since the pressing portion 52 of the torsion spring 50 pressesagainst the adjusting piece 62, when it is desired to adjust thetightness between the cleat 90 and the clipless pedal, the user caneasily screw the adjusting screw 61 to drive the adjusting piece 62 toshift along the slot 431, so as to change the prestressing force theadjusting piece 62 applies to the pressing portion 52 of the torsionspring 50, and in turn adjust the tightness between the cleat 90 and theclipless pedal.

In the present invention, the spring-driven adjusting bar 40 is at leastpartially positioned in the mold cavity 2 of the mold 1, so that in thecourse of the injection-molding process for making the clamping member30, the clamping member 30 fixedly incorporates the spring-drivenadjusting bar 40 as a whole piece, thereby simplifying the assemblingprocess of the clamping member 30 and reducing the structural complexityof the clamping member 30, thus being suitable for molding with loweredmanufacturing costs.

Furthermore, the wing portions 411 extending outward from the twolaterals of the embedded portion 41 of the spring-driven adjusting bar40 help to ensure firm combination between the main body 31 and thespring-driven adjusting bar 40 embedded therein, and eliminate loosenessover long term of use. Moreover, the spring-driven adjusting bar 40 maybe made of metal with the reinforcing rib 432 further preventing thespring-driven adjusting bar 40 from deformation under external force, soas to substantially increase the mechanical strength, wear resistanceand reliability of the product.

The present invention has been described with reference to the preferredembodiments and it is understood that the embodiments are not intendedto limit the scope of the present invention. Moreover, as the contentsdisclosed herein should be readily understood and can be implemented bya person skilled in the art, all equivalent changes or modificationswhich do not depart from the concept of the present invention should beencompassed by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A manufacturing method for a clamping member of aclipless pedal, comprising steps of: providing a mold for the clampingmember, wherein the mold is formed therein with a mold cavity; placing aspring-driven adjusting bar into the mold such that at least a part ofthe spring-driven adjusting bar is positioned in the mold cavity;injecting a material for the clamping member into the mold cavity sothat the material is molded in the mold cavity to fixedly incorporatethe spring-driven adjusting bar; and removing the molded clamping memberfrom the mold to present the clamping member with the spring-drivenadjusting bar to be used in the clipless pedal.
 2. A clamping member ofa clipless pedal made using the manufacturing method of claim 1,comprising: a main body having a pressing end and a pivotal end; and thespring-driven adjusting bar attached to the pivotal end, wherein thespring-driven adjusting bar has an embedded portion that is embedded inthe main body.
 3. The clamping member of claim 2, wherein the embeddedportion has a pair of wing portions extending outward from two oppositelaterals of the embedded portion.
 4. The clamping member of claim 2,wherein the pivotal end of the main body has a pair of connecting platesfor receiving a pivot portion, so as to be pivotally combined with apedal body, and a torsion spring is mounted around the pivot portion forapplying a resilient pushing force to the pressing end.
 5. The clampingmember of claim 4, wherein the spring-driven adjusting bar is formedwith a threaded hole for receiving an adjusting screw and the adjustingscrew is coupled with an adjusting piece.
 6. The clamping member ofclaim 5, wherein the spring-driven adjusting bar has an adjustingsegment extending coaxially to the adjusting screw away from theembedded portion and formed with a bended portion, the adjusting segmentbeing provided with a slot, and the adjusting piece having a protrusionconfigured to be slidably received in the slot.
 7. The clamping memberof claim 6, wherein the torsion spring has a pressing portioncorresponding to the adjusting screw, and when the adjusting screwpasses through the pressing portion and is screwed with threaded hole,the pressing portion presses against the adjusting piece.
 8. Theclamping member of claim 7, wherein the torsion spring has at least onepin that is fixed to the pedal body.
 9. The clamping member of claim 6,wherein the spring-driven adjusting bar has a reinforcing rib formed atthe bended portion of the adjusting segment.
 10. A clipless pedal havinga clamping member that is made using the manufacturing method of claim1, comprising: a pedal shaft; a pedal body that is combined with thepedal shaft and rotatable against the pedal shaft, the pedal body havingtwo ends formed as a retaining end and a clamping end, respectively,wherein the clamping end allows the clamping member to be pivotallyconnected thereto with a pivot portion; a torsion spring mounted aroundthe pivot portion, the torsion spring having two ends fixed to the pedalbody, so as to apply a resilient pushing force to the clamping member;and an adjustment mechanism provided on the spring-driven adjusting barfor adjusting a prestressing force of the torsion spring.